1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic game systems, and more particularly to electronic game systems that involve an election or random selection of the games starting point and configuration. Such systems include bingo game systems, action and adventure fantasy game systems, as well as other game systems. The common principle of these systems is that they comprise a central computer that accesses a database, one or more remote playing units, and one or more plug-in modules for transferring data from the database to the playing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers managing computer databases have crept into every corner of life, and in particular into the areas games and entertainment. Relevant to the present invention are computers and computer databases that are used in the playing of games, such as systems comprising a central computer and a plurality of remote playing units which receive customized game information from the central computer.
With the growing competition to make such computers easier to operate and more enjoyable to interact with, the input/output devices used in the computers make substantial demands on the power supply. Where the playing units are powered by batteries, such as where the units are designed to be portable, these power demands result in the need to replace or recharge the batteries often.
The game of bingo, for instance, continues to be extraordinarily popular in the United States. Bingo is often set up at church halls with a portion of the proceeds going to charity, or is played in bingo parlors, e.g. on Indian reservations. Bingo players typically play several cards at a time, perhaps up to 12 cards, in order to increase their odds of winning. Manually playing this many cards can be tedious, however, leaving one tired or prone to errors. With paper bingo cards there is also the possibility of cheating, i.e. bingo players attempting to alter the numbers on the cards.
With the coming of the computer age and advances in electronics, various electronic games have been developed to aid a player in playing bingo games. Such games may assist a player in overseeing more bingo cards than would be possible or practical otherwise. U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,157 discloses such a device, where between each game the player must manually enter each number from each card into the memory unit. The manual entry, however, is slow and tedious, and creates a practical limitation on the number of bingo cards that can be entered before and between bingo game sessions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,151 discloses a device that provides for the creation of whole playing cards simply by the manual entry of a card identification number. This process improves the speed of entering the selected cards into the game piece memory, but requires the cooperation of bingo card manufacturers to provide identification numbers for their cards such that each identification number is associated with one specific pattern of numbers on a card.
Both of these approaches are in essence ad hoc methods for assisting a player in an otherwise traditional, manual game of bingo. Either of these approaches may create resentment from competing players who are playing the game without electronic assistance. Thus, these approaches suffer from the impression that they create an unfair playing environment or that their operators are too serious or too greedy.
On the other hand, electronic gaming systems have been developed for use in bingo parlors, where each player is equipped with a playing unit and the use of paper playing cards is either eliminated or at least reduced. These systems typically include a central computer which performs administrative tasks including sale of bingo cards, running the bingo game, and sometimes electronic payment to the winners. In connection therewith, players sit at hard-wired electronic bingo stations or may be given stand-alone playing units, through which the players are provided with the desired number of card configurations for each game.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,787 and 5,043,887 disclose hard-wired or network electronic bingo systems where a central computer communicates with each remote unit before and during the bingo game. All purchases and all game-related data may be communicated through communication lines between the central computer and the remote units. The drawbacks of these games include the resultant undesirable xe2x80x9cLas Vegasxe2x80x9d feel of the game, the general lack of portability of the system, the lack of portability of the individual playing units, and the complications that can arise from maintaining a computer network system.
The stand-alone playing unit approach marries the best of all of the above approaches. The typical system comprises a central computer, which operates in part as a cashier station where all purchases are made. The player purchases a number of games to be played and a number of cards to be played in each game. The computer generates the playing card information and places the information into a memory module, and the player carries the memory module away in much the same way a player would carry away with him one or more bingo cards in a traditional bingo game. The player carries away the memory module either along with a portable playing unit or to such a unit already placed in a playing area.
The player inserts the memory module into the playing unit before the bingo game begins. Throughout the bingo games, the player inputs the called numbers into the playing unit through a customized keypad, and the playing unit alerts the player if one or more of the stored cards achieves a winning sequence. This approach retains the feel of a traditional bingo game, including the fact that the player carries away the purchased bingo cards and enters the called numbers manually. It also provides more of an appearance of equality since every player is provided with an identical electronic playing unit and memory module.
In recent years, the capability of these portable playing units has increased, typically to include color displays, speakers, and other components which consume significant amounts of power. If the playing units are battery powered, they typically need to be recharged after each use. To recharge the units and to prepare them for issuance for new bingo games, the playing units must all be gathered at a central charging station. This is a time-consuming process and requires a great deal of room, since a bingo hall may need to recharge hundreds of playing units in a short period of time and since the playing units may be considerably bulky depending on their display requirements versus their portability requirements.
Current electronic bingo systems which use stand-alone playing units also require some means of downloading or configuring each unit before each session of play. This configuration typically includes loading the number and description of cards purchased by the player, the type of win pattern and variation of bingo game for each game of the playing session, and other game options. This downloading of information typically uses some form of wired, or wireless, communication link which configures the playing unit at the cashier station when the player enters the bingo hall.
As the capability of electronic technology and the displays used in such standalone playing units increases, it becomes possible for the player units to play games and attractions other than bingo, or more than one type of game at a time. In a gaming casino environment, many of these games will allow the player to accumulate prize winnings and other information. At the end of play this information must be transferred from the portable playing units back to a central computer station to allow for payment of prizes or other accounting of winning information.
All of these requirements of charging the game unit batteries, loading game information to the game unit at the start of play and reading prize information after play require significant amounts of handling and transportation of the game units in the bingo hall. Since a single bingo hall can contain hundreds of such units, the handling of the portable handset units is a significant problem for the bingo operators and also frequently leads to damage of the units due to rough handling or dropping when carrying the units.
What is needed is a system which efficiently meets the requirements of recharging of batteries, loading game information to playing units, and reading of prizes from the portable playing units after play, and which minimizes the charging space and handling requirements for the playing units.
A system and method for managing an electronic game system comprising a central computer for accessing a database, one or more remote playing units, and one or more plug-in modules for providing power to a playing unit and for transferring data from the database to the playing unit. The central computer may operate as a point-of-sale cashier station where customized game or instructional data is transferred from the database to the plug-in module. The plug-in module also has at least one rechargeable battery which receives a recharge from a charging rack between sessions of use. The purchased plug-in modules are then inserted in playing units that receive both power and the customized game configuration data from the plug-in modules.
In particular, one embodiment of the invention is directed to a system and method for managing bingo games in which the plug-in module transfers game card configuration data from the central computer to a playing unit and provides power to the playing unit. The playing unit therefore receives operating power from the plug-in module and translates the game information data into the various game displays. The playing unit is operated through an entry means by a player who enters the called numbers into the playing unit or monitors the playing unit for the progress of the game, or both. The playing unit with the plug-in module inserted compares the game information data and the called numbers for winning or near-winning combinations and alert the player as to the progress of the game. If the player achieves a winning sequence, that win can be either verified or corroborated by the central computer. The system further comprises a charging rack into which the plug-in modules are inserted after operation to be recharged and stored for the next series of games.
An object of the invention is to provide a system and method for providing power and customized game data to remote playing units in a manner that facilitates efficient recharging of the batteries and reconfiguration of the customized data between sessions of use, as well as a convenient method of storing the plug-in modules between sessions of use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method for multiple-user customized game playing amenable to input/output devices that require substantial power resources, such as high-resolution color displays, active-matrix displays, sound systems, radio-frequency input devices, and touch-sensitive input devices.
A further object of this invention is to provide a system and method for multiple-user customized game playing which exhibit the interactivity of a hard-wired network, but which avoid the drawbacks of a hard-wired network, such as the general lack of portability of the system and of the individual playing units and the high maintenance requirements of a local area network.
A further object of the invention is to provide a system and method for multiple-user game playing in which the players are given identical electronic devices in terms of hardware, but each having the capability of randomly selected game configurations or other action adventure scenarios.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification and accompanying drawings.